GameStop Planning "Vintage Game" Sales

Check out GameStop's website and you can pretty much buy any game from the past generation or two - or pre-order anything due out for the next several years. But one thing that's missing from the global retail giant is the ability to buy games prior to the era of the PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube. Want a classic NES or SNES game? Some other classic part of gaming history? You won't find it.

According to GameStop CEO Paul Raines, that's going to change.

"We think there's a vintage sales opportunity, so we're accumulating some inventory," Raines told Verge in a recent interview, specifically pointing towards GameStop's website as the destination for this new venture. "If you go to eBay and look at all of the gaming stuff that's on there, it's unbelievable. Collector's stuff. We've got to be in that business. We will be."

Raines noted his company already has many old school classics, the result of trade-ins over the company's meandering 25-plus year history. According to the executive, there are a few challenges remaining, such as "sourcing the product, the condition [and] the refurbishment," but because the demand is there, the effort to expand the business is seen as worth it.

Raines offered no timetable for this expansion, merely noting his company is "working on some stuff we haven't announced yet."

Rich is an Executive Editor of IGN.com and the leader of IGN's Nintendo team. He also watches over all things WWE, Resident Evil, Assassin's Creed and much more. Follow him on Twitter, if you dare!